Toilets in Italian: gabinetto??

[lufun]

Hi everyone

I know that you ask for "dove è il bagno" when you need to go to the bathroom.
In a phrasebook, I read that you can also for "dove è il gabinetto".

Is the latter one more archaic / old fashioned or what is the difference?

[Dylan Thomas]

Hi lufun.

“Gabinetto” is not archaic / old-fashioned, it’s simply much less polite than “bagno”.
It’s always safer to say, “Dov’è il bagno? [not: “dove è”].

DT

[Enrico]

Two better esxpression are:

"Dove sono i servizi?" this is an abbreviation of "Dove sono i servizi igienici?"
"Dov'è la toilette?" where "toilette" is pronounced as in French